If you’ve ever participated in a tour, whether it be today or a year ago, you’ll almost certainly feel different from the person you were before you left. Whether you were trekking though soaring mountains in Nepal or partying the night away in urban jungles like Singapore with your new travel buds, touring is an experience that changes everyone for the better.
So, how do you deal with your friends scepticism about touring – especially if they’ve never actually been on a tour? After all, there are certain things they just won’t understand. In fact, here are our top five things your home-friends just won’t understand about touring (and our advice for dealing with them!)
1. They won’t understand how good it feels to travel with complete confidence
Maybe your friends have travelled before, but they haven’t joined a group tour. Maybe you’ve heard them tell stories about their own disasters abroad: unconfirmated reservations, endless lines at museums, and scheduling clashes.
But on the touring life, you’ll know all of that is taken care of for you. Stress free travel? Yes please. Try as you might, you can’t relate to your friends’ tales of woe.
2. They’ll never know how touring helps you capture the perfect Insta shot
When you’re travelling alone or with your friends and you are trying to get the perfect picture for your social media feed, it can get annoying constantly having to ask a stranger or your travel partner to take photos of you. Those of us who understand the magic of touring know the benefits of being in a group of people: there’s always several traveling companions willing to help getting that perfect snap!
Plus, what better way to nail those candids than being among new friends and dozens of new inside jokes?
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmLG12sHedN/?taken-by=tourradar
3. They won’t understand how meaningful a wake-up song is
On many tours, the song you listen to first thing in the morning as you hit the road for the day sets the tone for the entire trip. After you’ve had a wake-up song playing every day for a week or more, you can never hear it the same way again.
It’ll always be filled with memories, from early wake-up calls to the first time you saw an iconic landmark to the moment you made a friend for life with someone from another part of the country – or the world. How can you explain something like that to someone who’s never experienced it?
4. They won’t understand why it’s so great to see things no one else does
During a tour, sometimes you get to experience things no solo-traveller ever gets to see. It could be a behind-the-scenes glimpse at a Sri Lankan spice garden, early entry to the best museums Italy has to offer, or any number of other special off-the-beaten-track moments that the average traveller may not have the opportunity to be part of.
When you’re trading travel stories with a friend who doesn’t tour, you may find that yours are just a little bit more exciting than theirs – try to go easy on them, since they don’t know what they’re missing.
5. They don’t get to make friends from around the world
Possibly the best part of touring is returning from your trip with friends you would never have met otherwise, and the bonds that are forged with your touring friends are often much stronger based on your shared experiences on tour. When you’re travelling around the world with people, even complete strangers can become your best friends in just a day. By the time the trip is over, you can’t imagine your life without these people!
It’s not that you like your touring friends more than your home friends, but it can be difficult to reconnect with your home friends after you’ve been through something as rewarding, exciting, and life-changing as a group tour with like-minded travellers.
We know it’s important to love your friends, even if they don’t understand why you suddenly can’t stop talking about everything you’ve experienced since you left them at the beginning of your trip. If you ask us, there’s only one solution: next time you head out on tour (and you know there must be a next time!), bring your friend along!
What’s your favourite part of touring? Tell us in the comments below!
